Our invention relates to means in automotive service facilities to extract oil from used automotive oil filters.
During automotive service activities in automotive service facilities new automotive oil filters are installed and old automotive oil filters are discarded. In the past, such discarded oil filters have contained large amounts of used motor oil. This oil in discarded oil filters contributes to soil and water pollution when the filters are added to trash and garbage dumps. It is an objective of our invention to reduce pollution from discarded automotive oil filters by extracting large percentages of oil contained in such oil filters.
Federal laws effective 7/1/90 mandate that at least 75% by weight of oil in discarded automotive oil filters must be extracted from the filters before they are discarded. It is an objective of our invention to provide means to extract oil from used automotive oil filters, the means having an effectiveness meeting Federal requirements.
Other objectives include: to provide an oil extractor using low pressure compressed air as a source of power, using air-to-hydraulic conversion of power, and utilizing a pumping cycle to convert from lower psi air pressure to higher psi oil pressure; to squeeze oil from such oil filters by pressing the oil filters against the bottom of a hydraulic cylinder by a plate drawn by the hydraulic cylinder by a hydraulic piston, and by a piston rod extending from the top of the cylinder; to minimize space in a service facility by mounting the oil extraction equipment on the top of a general purpose waste disposal barrel; to provide a squeezer that will handle the normal range of heights and diameters of oil filters; to provide a squeezer with an access door for insertion and removal of oil filters and with safety means that will shut off power to the squeezer upon opening of that access door; to devise a safety system that limits squeezing pressures to safe limits and which will automatically shut off the equipment when the maximum selected pressure is reached; to provide such oil extraction means economically constructed so that the equipment can be sold for a relatively low price; and to devise instant shut-off means to be operated manually as a "panic button" should need arise.
We will not further elaborate on objectives and advantages of this equipment at this point. The equipment and system of operation will be more specifically detailed in the following description. Further objectives and advantages of our equipment will be included in the description or will be inherent in the equipment and system of operation described,
Our invention will be best understood, together with such additional objectives and advantages thereof, from the following description, read with references to the drawings, in which: